Metal furniture construction



H. E. WHITE AND H. F. PHMBIN.

METAL FURNITURE CONSTRUCTlON. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, I919.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

. 4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

2/ INVENTORS fleease T WHITE- and.

H N DH m T A H. E. WHITE AND H. F. PHILIBIN. METAL FURNITURECONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILE-D JULY 29. 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

H. E. WHITE-AND H. F. PHILIBIN.

METAL FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1919.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

INVENTORJ llseaeer E'. Wan M, j/E/WEY A u I H. E. WHITE AND H. F.PHILIBIN. METAL FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. 1919.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ammtou #5198527 E.- Wfi/ Tc. 0 A/E/WzY-E PHILJBINN UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

HERBERT E. WHITE AND HENRY F. PHILIBIN, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNORSTO THE GENERAL FIREPROOFING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

METAL FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION.

T 0 all to 710m it may concern Be it known that we, HERBERT E. WHITE andHENRY F. PHILIBIN, citizens of the United States, residing atYoungstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Metal Furniture Construction, ofwhich the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to metal furniture construction particularly of;the character adapted for making metal filing cabinets and like devices.X

A primary'object of the invention. is to provide a metal filing cabinetor like device comprising a plurality of unit parts designed withspecial reference to being placed in knocked-down condition for shipmentin compact form, while at the same time capable of being readily set-upor assembled for use.

Another distinctive object ot'the invention is to provide a metalfurniture construction of a simple character and economical tomanufacture, and which, when set up for use, will equal the appearanceof a solid cabinet, having all of the desirable qualities andcharacteristics thereof as to stability and rigidity.

il iththe above and other objects which will more readily appearas thenature of the invention is better understood. the same consists in thenovel construction, combina tion and arrangement of parts hereinaftermore fully described, illustrated and claimed.

The various details of the structure are necessarily Susceptible ofmodification without departing from the scope of the invention. but apreferredand practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying" drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of thepresent improved cabinet with portions broken away to show theconstruction more clearly.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the cabinet.

Fig. 3 is a too plan view of the cabinet, with parts broken away.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-l of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line of Fig. 1. andshowing a solid side panel substituted for skeleton construction.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an upper Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

Application filed July 29, Serial No. 314,003.

front corner of the cabinet with portions thereof broken away to showthe connection between the top, front and side sections of the cabinet.

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective View, partly 1n section, to show how thefront corner of the top plate is notched to clear the vertical membersof the front section. I

.Figr 8 is a detail perspective View partly in section, showing one ofthe upper rear corners of the cabinet.

Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of one of the rear upper corners ofthe cabinet, illustrating a modification ofthe invention.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a lowerrear corner of the cabinet/whenconstructed in accordance with the plan shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a detail perspective view of one end of the spacer rodsutilized for separating and holding the side ladder sections in spacedrelation.

Fi 12 is adiagram of the cabinet, showmg t e manner of assembling theside sections with reference to the back section.

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. l showin the front section fitted intothe seat forme at the front edges of the opposite side sections, and thelocking panels in position to hold the front. and side sections lockedtogether.

Similar reference characters, designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of thedrawings.

In carrying the present invention into effect it is proposed to providea plurality of sections or units, each of which may consist of more thanone part and be com pletely assembled at the factory by welding,riveting, or otherwise, as may be found most convenient. but of such aform in each in stance as to pack relatively fiat for shipment. To thatend the invention fundamentally and essentially comprises severalinterfittingand interlocking units which, though capable of beingknocked-down for shipment in compact relation, may also be easily andquickly set up to form a rigid cabinet structure com )lete in itself. asa partin a series or stacr of cabinets of like construction.

By reference to Figs. 3 and 12 of the drawings it may be observed thatthe present cabinet construction primarily includes the back sections A,the opposite side sections B-B, the bottom unit C, the top unit or cap Dand the front unit or ladder E. These units are adapted to be assembledin substantially the order named, as will appear after the structuralfeatures and characteristics of the several units have been elucidated.1

Referring first to the back section, or key unit A, it will be observedthat the same comprises a wall platel having the opposite holdingflanges 2 formed at each edge thereof, said flanges being bent in such amanner as to provide inwardly facing grooves or channels for receivingparts of the'side sections B as will presently appear. The upper edgeportion of the wall 1 of the back section A is formed with an inwardlydisposed flange portion 3 bent up at 4 (Fig. 8) to provide an angleflange disposed at the same side of the wall 1 as the flanges 2-2. Thevertical member 4 of the said ngle flange has secured thereto in anysuitble manner, angle plates 5, the leaf portions 6 of which are adaptedto be disposed parallel to the flange 3, and spaced therefrom, toprovide a holding slot 7 for the rear edge of the cap section D, ashereinafter pointed out. The lower edge of'the wall 1 of the backsection is provided with a stiffening flange 1 (see Fig. 1) and slightlyabove the edge is fitted with a suitable angle member 8 for receivingthe downturned flange or skirt portion of the bottom section C, as willalso hereinafter more fully appear.

The side sections B-B are of skeleton construction, and in theirassembled form are of ladder-like formation, since the opposits verticalmembers thereof are joined y transverse members as shown for instance inFig. 1 of the drawings. That is to say, each side section B essentiallyconsists of the front and rear inside upright members 9 and 10respectively, which are connected by the horizontal drawer supportingmembers 11, to thus provide a ri id structure. The uprights 9 arepreferably of relatively wide channel formation (see Figs. 12 and 13)with the out-turned flange portions 9 and 9*, while the rear verticalupright members 10 are also of relatively wide channel formation andprovided with the front abutment flange 12 and the rear substantiallyhollow keeper flange 13 which is adapted to fit into the inwardly facingchannel or keeper groove of the flanges 2 of the back section A. (SeeFigs. 8 and 12.) Accordingly, it will be apparent that the side sectionsB consisting of the front and rear "upright members 9 and 10 and thetransverse drawer supporting members 11 may be assembled at the factoryin the form of a ladder as shown, so that they may be readily andquickly assembled with reference to the back section A.

For the purpose of. facilitating the assembling of the side sections Bwith reference to the back section A, it may be observed that after thekeeper flanges 13 of the rear vertical uprights 10 have been fitted intothe vertical channels or keeper grooves of the flanges 2, a stiffeninangle iron 14 may be placed in the angle ormed at the inner meetingedges of the rear vertical uprights in the back section as shown inFigs. 1 and 12, wherein suitable perforations in the angle plate 14 willregister with similar per forations in the uprights 10 to receive thereduced end portions-:15 of the spacing rods 16 which not only serve asbraces or stays for stiffening the rear structure of the cabi net, butalso lock the side sections B to the back section in a thoroughlypractical and eflicient manner.

The bottom plate'C of the cabinet preferably consists of the bodyportion 17 having the down-turned side and rear flange portions 18, thelatter fitting into the channel formed by the keeper member 8 carried atthe lower rear edge of the back section A, and the down-turned sideflanges engaging with the holding'clips 8* carried by the rear verticalmembers of the side sections B-B. (See Fig. 1.) Thus the bottom plate 17securely holds the back and side sections together and generallystabilizes the lower end of the cabinet structure by reason ofthe'construction pointed out. The front edge of this bottom unit orplate is formed with an up-turned flange 19, and this flange cooperateswith a front bottom panel member 20 shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings toprovide a finished appearance for the lower edge of the front of thecabinet.

The top section or cap D (see Fig. 8) is provided at all of its edgeswith downturned flange portions for telescopically fittin over the sidesections B-B and front I an rear sections E and A, and for the urpose ofproviding a thoroughly effective ock joint between the cap, and theseveral sections on which it is surmounted, the rear downwardly turnedflange 21, thereof. is provided with an inturned locking foot flange 22which is adapted to slidably engage the top flange 3f of the back 1 andride into the slot 7 formed between the leaf 6 of the angle plateand'the said flange 3. The opposite side flanges 23 of the cap, as wellas the front flange 24 thereof may be provided with the inwardlyextending flange elements 25 which have the down-turned lip portions 26for providing a snug and dustproof joint between the front and sideedges of the cap and the corresponding parts of the vertical front andside sections. As shown in Figs. 6 andS the inturnerl flange portions 25are cut away at the corners to clear the upright members.

The front section E is also a complete unit in itself, and like thesections B-B is of provide a seat ladder formation, essentiallycomprisin the opposite vertical side members 27, whic are preferably ofchannel formation, and the transversely disposed drawer dividers 28.Owing to the novel formation'of the front uprights of the side ladders,the an larly formed flanges 9 of the. opposite adders for receiving thechanneled upright members 27 of the from section, and for the urpose oflocking the entire front section in position with reference to the sidesections, suitable panel strips 29 are provided. These panel stripsconstitute one of the novel and distinctive features of the presentinvention and are of substantially U-sha .ed formation, as ma beobserved from igs. 1, 4, 12and 13 o the drawings. The web portion 30 isexpose to view an constitutes a finished front -side edge of thecabinet, while the inner leaf member 31 thereof is notched as at 32 toclear the drawer dividers 28, and the outer leaf member 33 is providedwith a locking hole 34 hole for registering with a similar locking inthe vertical upright members 9 of the side sections B-B to receive .afastening for connecting two adjacent cabinets together, and

also for holding the panel members securely in position to therebyfasten the front section E in place with reference to the side sectionsBB.

When it is desired to set the cabinet up as a complete unit by itself,and have the sides thereof closed or protected, it is proposed toprovide a side wall S as suggested in ig. 5 of the drawings, and thisside wall S has its front edge formed in the same manner as the panelmembers 2-9. That is, it is provided with an inturned leafportion havingnotches for clearing the drawer dividers 28 and when used as shown inFig. 1, for instance, the same may be secured to the channels 27 bymeans of the screws 35,-which may be placed in position before the basemember 20 is fitted over the upstanding vertical flange 19 of the baseunit C. Therefore, it will be understood that when one or more cabinetsare set up side by side, and it is not necessary to provide acompleteseparating wall therebetween, the fastenings which are utilizedfor anchoring the adjacent cabinets together by passing through theopenings'34, also serve to hold the panels 29 in place, but on the otherhand when it is desired to provide a finished side wall for the cabinet,the said'side wall S is secured in position by the screws 35 which areconcealed by the base panel or apron 20. I

In assembling the several units to form a complete cabinet, the backsection A is first held in a vertical position and the holding flangeportions 13 of the rear uprights of the side ladder sections 13-13 areplaced into the keeper channels of the side flanges 2 of the backsection. After the side and back 'vatedand sliding the keeperflange 22between the angle plate 5 and the inturned wall 3 of the back section A.When the rear edge of the topsection and the back unit A are thusconnected and the front of the top is still held elevated, the uppertransverse member 28 of the front'lad'der section E is placed behind theinturned flange 25 at .the front of the top, as shown in Fig. 6, theentire front section E is then swung inwardly into osition between theflanges 9 of the opposite side sections BB, and the. top and frontsections thus connected are lowered together. The topD and front E arehingedly interlocked, so that when the lower part of the front unit,acting as a lever, is swung into place the top is placed under tensionto make a stable structure. When the front unit is in position thepanels 29 may be" fitted over the mating partsof the front and sides tolock the said front section securely in position in the manner alreadyreferred to. In event that the solid side walls S are utilized thesewill of course take the place of the panels 29, the same being se curedin place by the screws 35 as already referred to, and also by suitablefastenings inserted in the. openings 36 of the rear vertical uprights 10of the side sections.

\Vith the foregoing arrangement it Will be apparent that the jointbetween the side sections B--B and the back unit is located at the sideof the cabinet. However, in case it is desired to locate the joint atthe back of the cabinet, instead of at the side-the modifiedconstruction shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings may be utilized. In thisform of embodiment the opposite side edges of the body 1" of the barksection A are provided with the flanged angle portions 2" whose innerangles face outwardly instead of inwardly as in the form of constructionshown in the other figures of the drawings. These flanges 2 are in thiscase pref'erablv provided with a slot 37 for registering with a. similarslot in the interior reinforcing angle strip 14 and the inturned flange38 of the side panel section S. whereby a suitable key 39 having aforked slot 40 may be inserted in the inside of the cabinet thenarrowest part of the form engages and clamps together the stiffeningangle 14, flange 2 and flange 38 of the side section. For the purpose ofretaining the lower corner of the joint an car 41 may be formed on thebottom flange l" of the back plate, the same being bent upwardly toengage the return net construction consistin of a 'luralit ofinterfitting units or sections which ma be readily knocked-down forshipment in a compact form and on the other hand readily and quicklyassembled to provide a single cabinet or a row of cabinets as desired,while at the same time providing for the effective exclusion of dust orother foreign matter from the interior of the cabinets through theutilization of novel joints. where the several parts connect or meet.Further these novel joints contribute materially to the strength andrigidity of the entire cabineg structure.

Ve claim:

1. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back section,side sec tions detachably interlocked at the rear to the side edgeportions of the back sections, a front ladder section, and connectorsdetachably holding the=front ladder section interlocked with the frontportions of the side sections.

2. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back section,side sections detachably interlocked at the rear with the side edgeportions of-the back section, a front ladder section interfitting withthe front portions of the side sections, and panel members adapted todetachably lock the front and side ladder sections together.

3. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back section,side sec tions detachably interlocked at the rear with the side edgeportions of the back section, a front ladder section, and panel membersarranged at the sides of the side sections and having an engagement withthe front ladder section to hold it detachably interlocked with the sidesections.

4. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back section,side sections detachably interlocked at the rear with the side edgeportion of the back section, a front ladder section, and panel membersof substantially U-shaped cross section for emln'acing the meeting edgesof the front and side sections and holding the same in interlockedengagement.

A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back section, sidesections detachably interlocked at the rear with the side edge portionsof the back section, a front ladder section, and panel membersconsisting of spaced parallel walls connected by a transverse web, oneof said walls being notched to fit over the transverse members of thefront ladder section when the panel 1,e74,see

member is fitted to the meeting edges of the front and side sections tohold the same in their locked relation.

6. In a metal furniture construction, a back wall member provided at itsopposite "vertical edges with an intnrned flange, side wall members eachprovided at one edge with an outturned flange interfitting within one ofthe inturned flanges of the back wall and means disposed between theflanges o the side Walls tohold the same interlocked with the flanges ofthe back wall.

7. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back sectionhaving marginal keeper grooves openin inwardly, side sections havingoutturne portions adapted to fit in said keeper grooves, and spacingrods adapted to be interposed between the inside faces of the sidesections to maintain the same in locked engagement with the backsection.

'8. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back sectionhaving its opposite side edges provided with flanges forming keepergrooves, side sections including vertical'front and rear members andhorizontal drawer guides connecting said members. and the rear verticamembers of the said side sections having an interlocking engagement withthe keeper grooves of the back section, vertically dis-, posed anglemembers adapted to be fitted in the interior angle formed between therear vertical members of the side sections and the back section andprovided with perforations for registering with similar perforations insaid vertical members, and spacing rods having locking end portionsadapted to fit in said openings and hold the rear vertical members ofthe side sections in locked engagement with the back section.

9. A knock-clown metal furniture construction including a back sectionhaving marginal inwardly facing keeper grooves, side ladder sectionsconsisting of front and rear vertical members and transverse drawerguides, the said rear vertical members being provided with outturnedflanges for engaging with the inwardly facing keeper grooves of the backsection, and the front vertical members of said side sections beinformed with flanges providing interior ang es which constitute a frontsection receiving seat, and a front ladder section adapted to bedetachably fitted into the seat formed by the included angles of theflanges of the front members of the side ladder sections.

10. A sectional cabinet construction including a back section, sidesections ,having an interlocking engagement with the side edges of theback section, means for rigidly spacing and holding the side sections inplace with reference to the back section, a

connected with said front-and rear uprights,

means for locking the rear uprights with the back section. a. skeletonfront section adapted to be secured to the front edges of the sidesections,- and cap and base sect-ions having an interlocking, fit withthe back, side. and front sect-ions.

' 12. A sectional metal cabinet construction includinginterlocking backand side sections, means for holding the same in interlocked relation, abase section having an interlocking engagement with the back and sidesections, and said side sections being provided with'seats, a frontladder section adapted to be held in said seats and consisting ofvertical upright members and transverse drawer dividing members, and acap section having an interlocking engagement.

with the back and front sections and a relaively telescoping engagementwith the side sections.

13. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a. back section,a front ladder section, side ladder sections consist ing of front andrear vertical members of channel formation and a plurality of transversedrawer guides connecting said members, the rear vertical members of saidside sections being provided withfianges for interlocking with the backsection and relatively wide abutment flange facing out'-* wardly fromthe cabinet, and said front vertical members also having outwardlyfacing abutment flanges lying in substantially the same plane astheabutment flanges of the rear vertical members, and the forwardflanges of said front vertical flanges providing inwardly facing seatsfor said front section. I Y

14. A knock-down. metal furniture construction including a back sectionprovided with keeper means at its top edge and keeper grooves at itsside edges, side sections adapted to interlock with the keeper groovesat the sides of the back 'sect-ion,a front section adapted to fitbetween the front edges of the side sect-ions, means for holding theside sections interlocked with the, back section, and a cap sectionrovided with a; keeper flange at its rear go for engaging with thekeeper means at the top edge of the back section, and also provided withkeeper means at its front edge for engaging with the upper portion ofthe front section.

15. A knock-down metal furniture construction including a back sectionhaving keeper means at its top, side and bottom edges, side laddersections having means at their rear edges for interlocking with the sideedges of the back section and also provided with keeper means, means forholding the side sections interlocked with the back section, a bottomsection having a. flanged skirt portion adapted to interlock with thekeeper means at the bottom of the back section and also with the keepermeans of the. side sections, a front ladder section adapted to fitbetween the front edges of the side sections, and a cap section havinga. slidable interlocking engagement with the keeper grooves at the topof the back section, and having a flange at its front edge for embracingthe uppermost transverse member of the front ladder section, and panelmembers adapted toembrace-the meeting edges of the front and sidesections to hold the assembled structure in position.

16. A metal furniture construction including back and side sectionsseparably interlocked, a top section inte-rfitting with the back andside sections, and a front section having an interlocking engagement atthe top with the top section and also having a fulcruming engagementwith the side sections to place the same under tension.

17 A metal furniture construct-ion including back and side sectionsseparably interlocked, at top section interfitting with the back andside sections, and a. front section having a hinged interlockingengagement at. the inner edge portion of the top with the top sectionwhereby when the front section is swung into place againstthe sidesections, the interfitting parts are-held under tension. l

18. A metal furniture construction includ ing back and side sectionsseparably interlooked. atop section slidably interfitting with the top'of the back section. and a side section engaging the top and sidesections and arranged to fulcrum against the side sections to operate asa tensioning lever to place the top and interfitting parts undertension.

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our' signatures in the presence.of two witnesses.

Witnesses C. WV. ALLEN, R. T. LAND;

